Busy professionals in South Africa are so married to their jobs that they will even take them on holiday with them.
Latest research from Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, also reveals that professional men in South Africa are particularly bad at swapping their iPhones for ice lollies.
Regus asked a staggering 26 000 business people from over 95 countries to reveal just how much of their summer holiday they plan to spend working.
The results show that half (51%) of professional men in South Africa will operate almost as usual on vacation, compared to 49% of professional women. This means that rather than slapping on the sun lotion and sipping cocktails, the majority will attend to calls, emails, and significant pieces of work throughout their time off.
Hard-working South African men will also put in more hours than their female counterparts, with 55% saying that they plan to work one to three hours a day, compared to 43% of women. about the same percentage of both genders said they will work more than three hours a day: 20% of men, versus 19% of women.
Overall, 50% of South African professionals say that they will take a slightly reduced business as usual approach to their holiday, with 51% spending one to three hours a day on the job, and a further 20% spending more than three hours a day on their work.
In fact, the South Africans are so hard working that they beat the global average. Worldwide, only 39% of business professionals take a slightly reduced business as usual approach to their holiday, while just 17% plan to work more than three hours a day and 41% say they dedicate one to three hours a day to work.
Genderwise, South African professionals are also ahead of the curve: only 42% of professional men globally, and 34% of professional women, say they will take a slightly reduced business as usual approach while on vacation.
Kirsten Morgendaal, area director for Regus, comments: “South African business professionals are amongst the hardest working in the world. This amazing dedication to work may pay off for South African businesses and business professionals alike but a work-life balance is also important. It is interesting to see that although female South African business professionals are a little better at achieving this on holiday than their male colleagues, they are not far behind. Clearly, neither gender has quite mastered the art of relaxing on holiday.”
